


The Azrimar Chronicles Book 1 The Beast Rises

by ArthaDemon



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Alchemy, Azrimar, Fantasy, Novel, Other, original - Freeform, world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-03-26 00:26:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13846200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArthaDemon/pseuds/ArthaDemon
Summary: Something is wrong in Azrimar. Dangerous forces brood under the surface, ready to burst free. There are no chosen ones or great heroes; no divine prophesies written in the stone. It is up to the inhabitants of Azrimar to take matters into their own hands, unite, and rise above adversity when an ancient evil threatens to rise up from the pages of legend long since  lost to the sands of time.





	1. Something is Coming

**Author's Note:**

> Credit to Azenor, the creator of the Minecraft mod Thaumcraft for the inspiration that set this world into motion. 
> 
> Dedicated to my friend Robaschi who has had a huge part in the growth of Azrimar and the characters within from a simple concept to a story with a wide array of characters and world building. 
> 
> This story is not set in or affiliated with Minecraft in any way, and you don't have to be familiar with Thaumcraft to enjoy this story as you will become familiar with its workings and the creatures that inhabit Azrimar as the story continues. 
> 
> I have been building Azrimar for almost three years now, and even with the inspiration behind it it is still its own world in its own right. 
> 
> Chapters may be slow in coming as I am trying to get back into the swing of writing after a long block, but Azrimar is a labor of love and I hope that all of you will enjoy reading about this world as much as I have enjoyed building it.
> 
> There will eventually be illustrations of the scenes in this story, though these won't be added right away as I have been suffering art block and I want them to be done in a way that will aid story telling without detracting it. I won't decide what illustrations will be added until the story is well underway.

 

_There are no great Heroes in Azarimar. There is no great Evil that lurks in the dark. The gods don't bestow their power upon some prophesied hero. Our world has its troubles, like any other. Anybody can rise up to meet those troubles, and when they rise, so do we. There are no Chosen Ones, and there never will be. Such things are wishful thinking, storybooks and tall tales. If we were to wait for a Chosen One, things would continue to get worse while everybody hid and waited for a fabled being that will never come. It is up to us to Choose ourselves and rise up when threatened. It is the bravery of the people that live here that has kept Azrimar in relative peace for these past centuries._

 

_The classic struggle of Light and Darkness has been around since time began. Or, at least, that is what many believe. Stories speak of it as long as anybody can remember. Bedtime stories telling epic tales of magical heroes fighting terrible uprisings of pure Darkness. This struggle, however, does not exist. It never truly did._

 

_Now, I know what you are thinking. “But what about the constant epic battle between good and evil that's going on everywhere you look?” You ask me._

 

_Light and Darkness are not to be confused with Good and Evil. And moreover, there is no such thing as true Evil, nor is there such thing as true Good. In every great evil there is, or once was, a spark of good that once existed. In every great good, there is a shadow hiding within._

 

_Sometimes the best intentions can result in terrible evil, or something terrible could give rise to something good in its wake._

 

_The supposed struggle between Light and Darkness is not a struggle at all, but rather a dance of Balance and Harmony. This dance is what allows life to go on. Good, and Evil. Light, and Darkness. Order... and Entropy. Birth, Death and Rebirth. Circles upon circles, ever spinning in a great cosmic dance as old as the Universe itself and older. Every thing in this world and others is interwoven like a great tapestry. Perhaps even the Universe itself is one of many, all tied in together, and them tied in with something even greater, but whatever it is lies beyond my understanding. When I delve too deep into this strange power, my head spins and my heart pounds.  I can see beyond Time, beyond Space… I can see things nobody even knew existed, and if they knew, they wouldn’t believe.  I know there is something out there. Something untapped, something powerful. A great veil lies before me. I push deeper, to see more. To learn more. The deeper I go the more I feel eyes on me, things moving and stirring in the shadows. Strange, creeping mists flowing beneath my door and dark figures watching my every move. I feel cold inside. Something is telling me to stop. But I press on. Beyond this veil I see wonders. Great wonders. No... not wonders. What I see... What I see is..._

 

_Something's coming. Something's com..._

 

The writing become more erratic as Adamai read, before going off into some strange spidery text in symbols that were unfamiliar to him. He appeared to be of Elven or Fey ancestry. His face was smooth and fine-featured with golden yellow eyes. Some would even describe him as beautiful with his pale skin, shapely eyes and slender form. Judging by the messy red hair falling over his face, the very tips of his pointed ears sticking out of the rats nest of unattended bedhead, ruffled night-clothes, and dark circles under his eyes, he didn't seem to give much care to his appearance. Such fine looks were quite natural for a Fey of any sort. They were known for their beauty. Most were insufferably egotistical, but the redhead didn't seem to care too much about status, image or ego. What self-respecting Fey would be poring over the rantings of a madman who was most likely dead?

 

His brow scrunched under the force of a sudden headache and spinning sensation, but this was familiar to him. It often happened when one tried to delve too deep into knowledge that was too much for the average mind.

 

“The writing is clearly Eldritch...” He muttered to himself. He had seen it a few times and it always made him feel strange. That strangeness, however, did nothing to dampen his sense of adventure and curiosity. His voice matched that of a Fey; musical, soft, and quite pleasant even if filled with tired frustration. He had been poring over that damned book all night. The horizon backed by the distant mountains and grassy hills was just turning lighter along the edges, stars beginning to fade. The low hanging clouds were tinged a deep red orange. An oil lamp burned steadily on his research desk, providing the only light in the room. It would need to be refilled soon. The yellowish light fell over the pages of the book, which lay open still. Shadows danced against the dark wooden walls, decorated with notes pinned to the wall and still more spread out on the floor.

 

He stood to pace a few times, though his eyes were drawn towards the brightening line of light along the horizon. It was dawn, he realized, and the sun hadn’t yet setl when he had started trying to translate the dark glyphs written in the dusty old journal he had found on a shelf in an abandoned run down hut in a Taint patch. It wasn't unusual for his studies to take every ounce of his focus until he ended up asleep sitting in his chair with his face buried in a book and arms splayed awkwardly across his desk. He shook off the tiredness as he turned to look back at the book and mysterious writing within.

 

He didn't notice the creeping mist that started to flow under his door, or the sudden chill to the air. “I'll have to find Arzhel, have him read it.” Adamai decided after a moment. His voice fell on still air. Unnaturally still and cold. Condensation started to form on the windows as the mist silently wafted under the door and wisped silently across the wooden floor. The lamplight added an eerie edge and made the shadows dance across the curling silvery wisps.

 

Clearly, talking to himself was nothing unusual for Adamai. His golden yellow eyes focused on the writing on the pages again, as well as the blotches of black ink where the writing faded off. He had the very, very strong feeling that something very important was contained within. He just hoped Arzhel, who had a stronger constitution and had delved deeper into more powerful stuff than he had, would be able to at least start to translate the strange text.

 

There were problems in Azrimar. Problems that didn't go unnoticed by the redheaded Thaumaturge. Taint was becoming more of a problem. There seemed to be a certain dissonance to the air that nobody could quite place. It was subtle, but he found that even simple manipulations of the aspects often slipped or didn't go quite right, even with a carefully crafted focus and a wand of the finest arcane materials.

 

The touch of the mist against his leg trailing through the room in cold eddies made a shiver race up and down his spine as he looked up from the faded journal. He grabbed the closest thing he could, which just happened to be his wand. He realized too late that he didn't have a focus on it. That meant it could only take in vis, not combine that vis into magical attacks. It would, at least, power his runic shielding. That could give him the ability to get to his weapons. Weapons he cursed himself for not bringing with him to his study.

 

He knew very well what the mist, which was now less of a mist and more of an all-encompassing obscuring fog, came from. When it happened during his studies, it irritated him to no end. That fog meant he had caught the attention of darker forces. It was the spectral fog of the Dhaebru, powerful dark creatures, and episodes of Warp drew them in like a moth to the flame.

 

Adamai steeled himself for a moment, before throwing his door open. It slammed solidly into a figure, which staggered back with a very surprised and inhuman yelp before it spun around to face him. What greeted him was exactly what he expected from the moment the fog caught his attention. It was roughly the size of the average human, covered entirely in tattered, flowing robes that were nearly black and armor of a deep desaturated purple with a dull gold colored trimming along the edges. The robes moved of their own accord as if  they were caught in the gentle current of flowing water or a slow and gentle wind, rising and falling even in the stillness of the inside of his house. Its sleeves were long and hanging, with a long tattered cloak flowing behind it. Dim and pale purplish white eyes, or at least spots in the darkness in the shape of eyes where they would be if it had a face, stared from beneath the hood. Its face was a pool of blackness so profound it absorbed all light and reflected nothing back. The shoulder plates made the robed form look bigger than it was and even more imposing. Shadowsmoke billowed from beneath the robe, swirling all around the ghostly figure, though it faded away once it crept a few feet along the ground in swirling eddies of eerie blackness. With the door open, the unnatural fog quickly filled the Study so densely that it nearly obscured the shadowy form of the Dhaebru entirely in the few moments Adamai found himself staring at the thing.

 

Oddly enough, there was no symbol present on its chestplate. That usually identified a Dhaebru's origin, or at least, what sect it came from. The lack of one was something Adamai had never seen before.

 

Unnerved by the dark atmosphere and stares, Adamai took a deep breath. “I’ll never get used to this…” he muttered to himself quietly. But it was time to take action if he was going to live through this. Dhaebru were deadly and powerful when they chose to attack.

 

“I'M TRYIN’ TA STUDY, YA ELDRITCH TWAT!” Adamai screeched at the top of his lungs. He smacked the Dhaebru over the head with his wand repeatedly, before dropping it and turning to dart past the shadowy creature towards where he kept his weapons. He only wanted to confuse the thing for a moment. He knew he couldn't damage it with what was essentially a glorified stick.

 

He barely expected to get to his gear before the attack came. He braced himself for the withering scream of the Dhaebru, or the growling ghostly howl of attack, but it never came. He knew his low level Runic Shielding would only deflect one attack before it shattered. Adamai’s distraction lead him to stubbing his toe on the base of his armor stand. Hopping on one foot with several choice colorful words, Adamai caught another glance at the Dhaebru. It still wasn’t attacking him, even with his complete distraction.

 

He stopped with one foot still in the air, wondering if he had actually hurt it with a silverwood wand. Its expression was hard to read, though its eyes were wide and staring. He briefly thought it didn’t look hostile, but instantly shook off that thought as stupidity. It was Shadow and Darkness incarnate, there was no way it was actually nervous or afraid.

 

Adamai was completely confused as he stared at the Dhaebru, wondering if he had actually scared the thing somehow. He didn’t take his eyes off the creature as he reached towards his sword.  That turned out to be a mistake, because he still had his foot in the air. All of that had transpired in less than a second, rushing thoughts in his head, a quick survey of the situation. It really was true what they said about being in danger. Time truly seemed to slow down. He lost his balance and fell over, arms flailing, right into his armor stand with a loud clattering and crashing. The colorful string of swearing that followed would have made a drunken sailor blush.  
  
The crash startled  the Dhaebru terribly as it nearly jumped out of its skin, figuratively speaking. It turned to flee,  took two steps, tripped over Adamai's wand which still lay on the floor where the Fey had dropped it, and landed hard with a resounding _Fwoomph-crash_ of armor and robes.

 

The Dhaebru skittered back along the floor with a very startled yelp, and actually lifted its shadowy hands to cover its face. It seemed to forget its own fog for a moment as it got up and turned to run only to immediately crash right into the doorway so hard that it seemed to stun itself.

 

Adamai, having finally snatched up his sword and leapt to his feet to charge, paused in confusion.

 

“What the heck is _with_ this guy?” He muttered to himself. He still held his sword up. The Dhaebru still hadn’t made any move to attack, and he noticed that it was a bit smaller than the others he had encountered. It really did look frightened, despite all of Adamai’s logic saying there was no way it could be. He finally let out a long sigh. If it wasn’t going to attack him, then he had no reason to attack it. Maybe it needed help or something.

  
Finally, he strode towards the shadowy figure and reached out one slender, pale hand. “Need any help there?” He finally asked, a bit gruffly from lack of sleep and his previous burst of shouted swearing. The Dhaebru froze like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. It hesitated and looked left and right as if trying to make a hasty retreat. Adamai raised one brow and rolled his eyes. Whatever was up with this Dhaebru, it seemed too incompetent for its own good. Holding his sword in one hand just in case, he reached his other hand out and gripped the Dhaebru’s hand. It was cold to the touch, but somehow solid though he felt that if he squeezed hard enough his solid flesh would go right through the strange shadowflesh of the wraith. It was certainly a very strange feeling. He pulled the creature to its feet.

 

“So.” Adamai said, his voice dripping with unimpressed annoyance. “Who the fuck are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?”

 

The Dhaebru was quiet for a moment, though after a prolonged pause it saw the irritation on Adamai’s face raising to critical levels. It finally spoke. Its voice was soft and low, echoing and ghostly, as if it came from a great distance. It sounded male, Adamai thought.

 

“I was… exiled.” It spoke hesitantly. The spectral fog slowly dissipated until it was gone, and the coldness to the air left soon after. The dark and ominous aura the Dhaebru had remained, though it wasn't particularly threatening at the moment.

 

Adamai raised his other brow in disbelief.

 

“My Warden said I asked too many questions and that I was too clumsy to be useful.” The Dhaebru continued quietly, stammering a bit at the look on the redhead’s face.

 

“So I see.” Adamai grumbled. “But that doesn’t answer what the hell you are doing _in my house_.” He emphasized the last three words very clearly.

 

“I was just going to take shelter, honest!” The Dhaebru’s ghostly voice raised into a tone that was almost comparable to a nervous squeak. “The sun was rising and Midworld is terribly hostile to us and I thought maybe I could just hide out for... the day ...or… or...something…” He trailed off as he glanced down at the impatient tapping of Adamai’s socked foot. “And I was… Well we don’t… I’ve never been alone before.” He kept stammering and halting in his speech. Adamai realized that his irritated stares were actually frightening him. He stopped tapping his foot and took a breath to steady his temper. Lack of sleep did that sometimes, and he’d been wracking his brain the whole night through over the text in the journal he had found.

 

‘He sounds young.’ Adamai thought to himself as he finally let go of the irritation. His face relaxed as he let out a tired sigh.  “Hmph. Well. You haven’t tried to attack me. You can stay, for now. What else am I going to use my guest room for, aside from storage? C’mon.”

 

He shuffled towards the spare room and its small bed. There were stacks of various items, but the bed was accessible. “So.” Adamai continued. “Asking too many questions, hm? What sort of questions would get you thrown out of your… group or whatever?”

 

“Honestly, I think the Warden was just looking for a reason to get rid of me.” the Dhaebru said. “I have a knack for ending up getting myself into trouble on top of being clumsy, and I called out one of the other trainee Guardians on a lie. They said they beat up a Crimson Cultist, but the Cultists are never alone, are always guarded by their Knights, and they are extremely dangerous. There wasn’t a scuff on his robes, there were no signs of injuries and no signs of a fight.   He hadn’t even left the Shadow Realm! Apparently he was the Warden’s son or something, and instead of being mad at him for lying and making things up to look better than everybody else the Warden got mad at me for calling him out on the lie. My Warden isn’t exactly nice, though, and rumor has it he’s…” He trailed off for a moment. “I heard rumor that he was a son of Vulthoom the Vile. I don’t know who this Vulthoom is. I also noticed that something wasn’t quite right with the Threads. I thought we were supposed to oversee that, but asking about it just angered him until he exiled me.”

 

That caught Adamai’s interest instantly. “Something wrong with the Threads?” He asked. “So I’m not the only one….” The last part was muttered more to himself than anything else. “And that text said something was coming….” He mused further, but his head suddenly spun. Just trying to think too carefully on it made the Warp swirl to life in his mind. He noticed the Dhaebru turn to stare at him nervously.

 

“Careful! You’re starting to gain dangerous levels of Wa-” the Dhaebru started.

  
  
“I KNOW!” Adamai almost snapped through the sudden irritating pounding in his head and darkening of his vision.

 

He swore he heard a click as the Dhaebru snapped his mouth shut midword. “S-sorry.” the Dhaebru stammered after a moment. His voice had raised almost to a squeak again “My.. my name is Koltho. If… you were curious.” A change of subject was sorely needed to break the awkwardness of the moment.

 

Adamai took a moment to get control of his temper again.  “Adamai.” He said rather shortly after the pause. “Anyway. I haven’t slept. I’m going to bed. Don’t get into anything, don’t cause any trouble or break anything and I won’t have any problems with you.” The Fey turned on his heels and stalked off to his bedroom. He was entirely done with the day, and it had just begun! He collapsed into his waiting bed with a long sigh of relief and was fast asleep in moments.

 

His dreams, though, were far from peaceful. He didn’t see anything particular, but he couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that something was terribly wrong, that something was watching his every move, waiting, biding its time. Something lay in wait just beyond the edge of perception, ready to spring through like a vicious predator lying in wait in the shadows with muscles tensed. He woke with a gasp and start to the vision of a shape of darkness and fire with empty pits for eyes filled with the fires of hatred and destruction and liquid fire dripping from a gaping maw full of jagged fangs. He had to blink several times to shake the vision from his head. Even the light of the sun streaming in through his window couldn’t chase away the ominous feeling and heaviness in his chest. He could not tear his mind away from the text in the Thaumaturge’s journal he had found.

  



	2. Meeting the Family

After he woke up from his long sleep, Adamai continued to lay in bed deep in thought about his dreams for around another half hour. Finally, he realized he had to stop being a lazy lump and get out of bed. He shrugged on a long sleeved shirt and pulled on a simple pair of pants made of comfortable but durable material.

 

“Arzhel isn’t back yet.” He muttered to himself as he ran a pale hand through his hair, which wasn’t really that much messier after getting up than it was when he went to bed. He still didn’t seem to care as he shrugged and quickly gave up on straightening his wild mane of red hair. It was naturally long and fluffy in texture. He stretched, yawned, then shuffled his way over to the guest room, wondering if the Dhaebru from the night before still remained, or if he had ran off in the time he had been sleeping.

 

Koltho was still there, sitting on the bed quietly reading one of the books Adamai kept on his shelves. It appeared to be a history book, so Koltho was likely trying to learn more about Midworld. That was smart, Adamai thought. If he was going to be stuck in Midworld in exile, it would be best for him to learn as much as he could about the place.

 

“I see you are keeping yourself out of trouble.” The redhead commented. Koltho all out squeaked and almost fell right off the bed in a mighty startle, before the shadows all around him quivered in what Adamai guessed was his equivalent of a blush. His body language showed that he was blushing clear enough even if no redness appeared on his shadowy face.

 

“I’m really very quiet.” Koltho said. “I’m no trouble, honest.”   
  
“So I see. Anyway, I am going to go back to my study. If a big crazy fluffy thing that reeks of enough Warp to rival an entire sect of Cultists comes in here, that’s just Arzhel. He and Katira ran off again, probably to explore and pick fights with said Cultists.” Adamai rolled his eyes a bit, but he looked amused as the corner of his mouth quirked up in a crooked grin. It was still light out, but he could tell he had slept half the day away by the position of the sun in the sky as viewed through the window.  “He won’t attack you unless you attack him, but I’d keep that fog of yours away and if he does appear, best to let me introduce you two. Dhaebru and our ilk don’t exactly get along the best, after all.”   
  
“Well we aren’t really hostile for the most part, we actually prefer to observe -”

 

“If by ‘Observe’ you mean creep on unsuspecting thaumaturgists.” Adamai interrupted abruptly. The Dhaebru gave an indignant little huff as he folded his arms across his armored chest. His shadowy aura shivered again, though this was a slightly different movement than before. It almost seemed to be a pout, which amused Adamai greatly. He smirked, then continued speaking. “Arzhel’s a Kivuuli, but I know him pretty well and I know that if I introduce you two he won’t pose any threat to you whatsoever. He’s nuts, but he’s a great guy. Kivuuli are peaceful creatures, after all.” Adamai said. “Unless, of course, you make them feel threatened and give them a reason to come after you.”

 

“I’ve never seen one before.” Koltho admitted. “Then again, I’ve never left Shadow Realm before I was exiled so there’s a lot I have never seen before. My Warden, former Warden that is, thinks they are too dangerous to mess with.”

 

“Even  a Warped one? I know Warp attracts you Dhaebru like a fresh turd attracts flies.” Adamai smirked. “And I know Arzhel’s always attracting Dhaebru even if they don’t usually come too close unless there's a group of them. I guess that explains why!”   
  
“If a Kivuuli builds up dangerous levels of Warp, the Wardens deal with it.” Koltho said. “In training, I was told to immediately fetch my Warden if I encountered one, and that he would have to seek out allies and they’d deal with the problem together, or the strongest Guardians would be sent in a big group. It’s probably a good thing it’s so rare for Kivuuli to get into enough Thaumaturgy to get Warped in the first place! A Kivuuli can kill a Warden. Wardens are rare, you know, we can't have them all getting killed stopping the irresponsible use of Arcane forces."

 

“Huh. I guess that’s why I have never seen one before.” Adamai commented with a shrug of his shoulders. “... Not that I’d know if I did as I have no idea what they look like.”

 

“A Warden is kinda like me, but their robes are a shade or so lighter.” Koltho explained. “Still black, but not quite as dark. Their armor is a bit different in shape. The symbol on their chest plate is in the same gold color that trims their armor. Their armor is usually a little more imposing in design, but that varies depending on the Warden. The gold trimming is brighter, not as dull as the trimming I have as a Guardian. They’re very tall. Much taller, really, almost twice my height, with burning red eyes not dimmed by their hoods. I believe you would measure one as being around twelve feet tall.”   
  
“Damn.” Adamai commented, with an impressed whistle. “That’s bigger than Arzhel! But bigger doesn’t always mean more dangerous, you know.”

 

“With Wardens it certainly does.” Koltho said. “They’re far more powerful than we are. They can darken a room with their presence. I have heard of a single Warden laying waste to several Cultists along with their Templar Knight protectors. The only sort of Cultist that can take down a Warden is their leaders. Praetors, they are called. They steal a Warden’s Core, and strengthen themselves with years of training and dangerous magic.  Let’s just say that killing a Warden for their core is no easy task, many Cultists break into the Shadow Realm in an attempt to harvest one and most of them die. My Warden said that they send expendable cannon fodder into Shadow Realm. Wardens rarely leave Shadow Realm because they are vulnerable there with Cultists always trying to hunt them down.”

 

“When I hear that, all I can think of is a prison warden.” Adamai said suddenly.

 

“Well, Warden is the best way to describe what they do.” Koltho replied.   
  
“What, keep you all prisoners?” Adamai smirked again, a bit wider. His golden eyes twinkled playfully.   
  
“Wha - no!” Koltho said in surprise. The fact that Adamai was messing with him went right over his head. “Warden means Protector or Overseer, and is the closest translation your language has. Our language is terribly complex and would burn your mind which is, being physical, quite fragile! That’s why Warp hurts you so much! Anyway, they protect the Sect, or at least they are supposed to. Mine gets angry if questioned and punishes us harshly at the smallest blunder. He’s arrogant and I never liked him much. But being in his sect was better than being stuck in a place truly hostile to my kind! Alone, no less… we don’t like being alone.”

 

“So I see by all that rambling on you keep doing.” Adamai said.

 

“You are asking questions!” Koltho said in an odd ghostly embarrassed squeak. He was getting slightly flustered, and more pouty. The shivering if his shadowy aura indicated another blush. If he was physical his entire face would have been bright red. He was just too easy to mess with, Adamai realized, as he grinned in amusement. But enough was enough. He didn't want to frustrate the shadowy wraith creature too much.    
  
“How long have you been in exile?” Adamai finally asked. He finally decided to ask an earnest question instead of messing with the Dhaebru.   
  
“A few days.” Koltho said. His demeanor dropped considerably. “It’s the scariest, most lonely thing I have ever experienced and I hate it!”

 

He seemed sincere about that, because his voice quivered a bit as his hooded head lowered. His shadowy aura seemed to diminish and draw itself up beneath his robe. Adamai observed how it changed and shifted around him with his emotions, and realized that even if a Dhaebru’s face was hard to read, they seemed to have other ways of displaying how they felt. He was surprised the shadowy things felt anything at all, unless Koltho was just the odd one out.

 

A sudden commotion outside made Koltho squeak again, an odd sound coming from such low, ghostly tones. Even Adamai jumped a bit before going to look out the window. He forgot all about asking the Dhaebru questions as he went to investigate.

 

A streak of odd bluish grey and white sailed over the wall, followed by the sparking balls of dangerous red magical energy slamming into the wall with a terrible  _ Bzzaaaaaaakkkk! _ noise. A scrabbling of claws was heard next as the blue grey thing revealed itself to be a strange, furred humanoid creature. It ran on all fours, white hair forming a fluffy mane down its back. One eye was burning red with no pupil and the other bright purple with a darker purple pupil, slitted and felid. The scleras were black and sharp saberlike fangs jutted down from its upper jaw over its lower lip. 

 

Another sound made Koltho whimper and hide beneath the blanket. A long, drawn out ghostly howl. Not only had the creature angered a bunch of Cultists, it seemed to have angered a bunch of Dhaebru as well!

 

“HELP!” The furry creature, currently on all fours, shouted. “THEY HATE ME MORE THAN THEY HATE EACHOTHER!”

 

_ Bzaaaakkk! _   
  
Another ball of energy slammed into the creature’s butt. He jumped forward with a startled yelp. The creature skittered for the doorway as Adamai stared out the window at him with one brow raised. He didn’t seem at all worried about the sudden furry humanoid beast launching over his wall like a giant fluffy missile. Several more balls of energy hit the wall, these ones shadowy and black. While Cultists and Dhaebru usually attacked eachother, the creature seemed to have become a common enemy and cause for a temporary truce.

 

“Get back out here!” A voice shouted. It echoed with unnatural power. Loud and raspy, angry.

 

“Go fuck a Dhaebru!” the creature shouted back. It sounded male. “There’s plenty of ‘em out there, ya know! More fun than chasin’ me!”    
  
He skittered through the front door on all fours, then slammed the door shut behind him with a good hard kick.  _ Bzaaaak! Bzaaaaakkk! _ Two more of the magical balls of hostile energy slammed into the door hard enough to make it shake, but after that his persuers seemed to give up. There was no way over that wall for them, and the furry creature knew that. He shook himself off as if none of that happened and trotted over to Adamai with a huge grin. “I wonder if that’s even possible? Fuckin’ a Dhaebru, that is. I mean, they’re all shadows an’ robes an’ stuff.”

  
“Messing with the Cultists again?” Adamai asked in clear amusement as he raised a brow slowly. He folded his arms across his chest. His golden eyes met with the mismatched eyes of the new arrival.

 

“.... They don’t zone out as much as I thought.” The creature gave a wide and crazy grin, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth befitting a powerful predator. His mismatched eyes were bright and his mane of wild and messy white hair framed his furred face. He got up from his all fours position and stood, towering over Adamai at nearly ten feet tall. His limbs were long with white feathering along the forearm, with scale like spines sticking off of his elbows. He looked just as comfortable standing up as he did when he was down on all fours.  He stood in a digitgrade stance, with long sharp claws on his pawlike feet, tufted ears positioned and shaped like the ears of an elf with feline features perked right up. His face was mostly humanoid, through his nose was somewhat reminiscent of a cat, but humanoid in shape, though flatter and a bit sharper. His cheeks had long tufts hanging over his neck. He was mostly a dark blue grey color though his belly and inner thighs were paler. He had black stripes along his shoulders, though his entire forearm was black aside from the light fingertips. His hips were black, the stripes and spots showing the blue grey of his undercoat. His fur was incredibly thick and dense, making him look quite a bit bigger than he really was. He was quite a striking figure.  Adamai was not at all intimidated. Koltho continued to cower beneath the covers, because there was no mistaking that creature. He was, in fact, a Kivuuli. And he was, as Adamai generously described, more warped than an entire sect of Cultists! The Warp had physical manifestations, elongating the beast’s canines into sharp saberlike fangs and one of his eyes into glowing red. He swore he saw an energy trail flowing from that eye. 

 

The sounds of the Dhaebru outside stopped. They seemed to have given up the chase and didn’t want to mess with the Cultists, and slipped away back into the Shadow Realm while the Cultists were distracted trying to attack the wall separating them from the creature that had pissed them off

 

Despite hiding, however, Koltho didn’t escape the creature’s notice. Arzhel turned to look at the  lump beneath the blankets.   
  
Adamai strode over and pulled the blanket off of Koltho. Koltho yelped in surprise, though he carefully got off of the bed and stood beside it. No use hiding with the blanket pulled away, after all! The tall Kivuuli made him feel terribly small and vulnerable.

 

“Koltho, meet Arzhel. Arzhel, this is Koltho.” Adamai said. “Kol’s a guest, for now. He went and got himself exiled, then interrupted my studies. Didn’t attack, though! So, there’s that. I don’t think he means any harm.”   
  
Arzhel tilted his head as one tufted ear flicking under the tickling strands of his white furlike hair. A huge grin spread across his face. “Aw, he’s kinda cute!” He said. He trotted over to the Dhaebru, then immediately stuck his head under the shadowy being’s robes to have a curious peek. “I’d say that’s a no!” He added as he withdrew his head from beneath the flowing tattered near-black fabric. 

 

Adamai gave Arzhel a confused look.   
  
“There’s nothin’ there! Just shadow! Ya can’t fuck somethin’ that ain’t got nothin’ down there!” Arzhel let out a downright insane giggle. Adamai groaned and smacked his hand to his forehead.    
  
“Seriously!?” He said. “That’s the first thing you do when you meet a Dhaebru!?”

 

“Wut? It’s a very legitimate question! I was curious!” Arzhel said. “Never gotten close to one without ‘em comin’ after me in packs or runnin’ off like Imma eat ‘em or somethin’! Why would anybody eat a Dhaebru? I don’t think somethin’ made of shadows an’ cloth would be very filling!”

 

Adamai let out a long sigh, though the utterly confused and probably concerned stares from Koltho made him burst into snickers after a moment. “You get used to him, after a while.” He informed the confused and probably somewhat concerned Dhaebru.

 

“I… ah… yeah, I see.” Koltho said, blinking twice. He fidgeted with a waft of shadow that flowed from under his robe.

 

“Where’s Kati?” Adamai asked Arzhel after a moment. 

 

“Kati ran off when I decided to fuck around with the Cultists.” Arzhel snickered. “Somethin’ about makin’ herself useful and gatherin’ supplies.”   
  
“Smart.” Adamai smirked. “I suppose she’ll be back once the Cultists give up and leave.”

 

“Knowin’ her, she was probably watchin’ the whole thing and havin’ a good laugh.” Arzhel snickered.   
  
“I wouldn’t blame her.” Adamai retorted. “Also, I found something very interesting in that journal I found the other day. The one in the Tainted Overgrowth near the mountains. Problem is, I can’t read it. Think you can help? You’re Warped enough to read Dhaebru Text.”

 

Koltho opened his mouth to speak, got a sharp stare from Adamai, and snapped it back shut again without a word. Adamai knew he was going to comment that if it Warped him trying to read it than it wasn’t good to read, but he had also already learned that Adamai didn’t give two shits about getting Warped from something.

 

A sound of a splash, screaming, odd bubbling and sizzling followed retreating footsteps told the group that one of the Cultists had likely fallen into one of their traps, then given up on the chase.

 

“Told ya that warding would hold!” Arzhel said, rather proudly. “And you thought I was crazy filling that old moat with Liquid Death!”

 

“It was crazy. But at least it worked.” Adamai shrugged. Once the commotion died down, a click and rattling of huge chains and gears could be heard followed by light, delicate footsteps crossing the drawbridge, followed soon after by the sound of the drawbridge closing once the footsteps had crossed. 

 

“That would be Katira.” Arzhel commented as the new arrival ambled across the courtyard as well. She walked very casually despite the smoke still rising from the wall where it had been attacked not minutes before.

 

Katira looked a lot like Adamai, but this was to be expected with her being his daughter. She was clearly related, even if appearing to be a different species entirely. She was smaller than him, standing a mere four feet ten inches, dressed in a simple comfortable robe. Her skin was black like charcoal his with patches of vibrant purple on it in exotic markings reminiscent of a fire salamander. She had silver eyes with black scleras and slit pupils. Poking out of the wild mane of messy red hair were two antenna, the same purple as the rest of her markings. She had a tail,  somewhat reminiscent of the tail of a tadpole or an eel swaying behind her. She wore sandals, showing black claws on her webbed long fingers hands and long -tied amphibian feet. While small, she was definitely no child, for her features were those of a grown woman. She was flat chested, but she didn’t mind at all. It was quite natural for a Reshviik. They were not mammalian and didn't produce milk so had no breasts or nipples. It meant she had less in the way when she got to work on something, or went exploring or was generally active. It was also far more streamlined for her time in the water. She was clearly semi-aquatic. She had big, round eyes and soft features, though something about her expression said she was full of spunk and energy and nothing would keep her down for long.

 

“Cultists ran off.” She commented.

 

“I figured,” Adamai said back. “So. We have ourselves a newcomer, one you might find a bit interesting.” He motioned towards Koltho. The Dhaebru still looked unnerved by all the commotion and new people. Adamai explained who Koltho was, and how he came to be in the home the three shared.

  
“The most important question.” Arhzel commented suddenly, upon hearing the full story. “Can we keep ‘im?”   
  
“Oh I agree! He’s adorable!” Katira smiled ear to ear as she went over to shake Koltho’s hand and introduce herself. “I have never seen a Dhaebru up close before! You aren’t as scary as I heard Dhaebru can be! I’m with Arzh on that one. I think we should keep him. He looks lonely, and I like ‘im!”   
  
Adamai looked from his daughter, to his best friend who he often thought of as a brother, as odd as Arzhel could be. “We’re already a little band of misfits. What harm would one more do?” He asked. “Koltho, you said you are alone and have nowhere else to go. How would you like to stay with us? We’re an odd bunch, but we are a family all the same.” He was certainly more agreeable when he wasn’t tired and frustrated from losing sleep and fussing over a mysterious journal all night long.

 

“I… I’d like that.” Koltho said. His ghostly tones were soft and a bit shy. He was not used to being accepted so readily. Even in his own Sect, he’d been mostly left to his own devices. They weren’t the most personable Dhaebru.  His shadowy hands fidgeted in front of him, twisting the cloth of one of his sleeves around, but he appeared to be smiling. They weren’t Dhaebru, and it wasn’t a Sect but they seemed friendly and accepting. Perhaps it was his inexperience speaking, but he felt safe here, and he felt that they could be trusted. 


	3. The Lhuin and the Warden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A small Lhuin named Ari gets an unexpected surprise when exploring and a new friendship is forged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pardon any clunky writing. After constant interruptions, I was finally able to get it written. It is rough and I am tired. I will go through and edit it soon. It sorely needs it, but I wanted to get it at least written down while I had the chance. The Lhuin are a species of my own. https://artha-demon.deviantart.com/art/Lhuin-Species-Sheet-744843877 Sandsong was gifted to me by my friend who goes by Unexpected-Phyrexian on Tumblr. She and Ari were both originally characters in the universe of the video game Journey, but fit well with the concept of the Lhuin which started off as a flesh based version of their characters as they were initially made of cloth. Ari fit well into the story in his new form. Enjoy!

The strange scent blowing in on the breeze was both interesting, and frightening to the small figure who walked through the long grass of the plains. Ari had lived in the Great Desert, as some called it, since he was born. But, as was common among the Lhuin, his heart longed to wander and explore. The grassland, after all, wasn’t too far from his home and there were many plants to gather and interesting things to find and explore.

His small form was quite striking against the green and yellow of the surrounding landscape. He stood a mere four feet eight inches tall. His skin was a deep reddish brown, covered in a coating of short, velveteen fur, He was a little pudgy around the middle, though that was hard to tell with the white clothing that fluttered about his small form. He had wings, small and batlike in shape, covered in thick soft fur, with a fringe of feathers along the bottom edge. They were rusty red in color with darker red markings and gold trimming. Behind him, trailing through the grass, was a long, flat ribbon like tail, covered in soft sleek fur. It was the same rusty red as his wings and slightly wavy and long hair. His hair was trimmed in gold. Round eyes graced his fine face with freckles of gold matching the rest of his markings on his cheeks. His eyes glowed a soft white, with no visible iris or pupil. 

He lived in an oasis in the desert just beyond the grassy plains he currently traversed across with his adopted daughter, a vibrant red young adult Lhuin named Sandsong. 

He had wandered far from the sands that surrounded his home, even leaving the desert itself for vast stretches of grassland dotted with the occasional copses of trees. His false ears, for the “ears” atop his head were not really ears at all but rather organs meant to sense energy, were lifted high as he took in the energy of the sun. He took a breath, then spread his small wings. A shimmer of light flickered across his wings and tail as he launched into the air with a few flaps, then glided. He had to walk and regain his energy from time to time, but alternating between flying and gliding until he grew tired, then landing to take in the energy of the sun beating down from the blue sky still saved a lot of time. It allowed him to travel further in a day than he would be able to otherwise.

He wanted to find out what that smell was. It was something like crushed mushrooms, mixed with bog rot and the dank musty reek of the decrepit moldy insides of an abandoned house. An odd, purplish haze could be seen along the horizon, hugging the distant mountain range. As he flew higher, he realized that even the ground there was tinted a sickly dark dull purple color. Even from that distance it looked and felt wrong and dangerous.

He decided that he did not, in fact, want to go investigate after all. Something about that entire place felt wrong in every way possible. The arcane energy felt absolutely chaotic. Not ordered like the natural Arcana that was present all around, in threads connected to aspects, weaving a complex tapestry of energy that described and made up everything in Azrimar. This felt like a tangled mess, and he knew that a tangling of the threads was never a good thing. That was common knowledge to all who inhabited Azrimar, even those who did not dabble in the Arcane Arts. Purifying Blooms could help, but he didn’t know where any of those were or how to grow them. 

They put out an aura of order that would prevent the spread of the corrupted Arcana. Such an affliction affected more than just the land, but anything that walked upon it as well. It would twist their body and destroy their mind, so any wise person would avoid it entirely. It was truly inimical to all life. Those who delved too deep into the dangerous Arcane arts could cause such tangling of the threads, but the one ahead seemed far too large to be from a mishap or the result of the irresponsible use of the Arcane Arts. It seemed to have consumed much of the distant mountains and a large swath of land all around them. 

The land was Tainted beyond repair. Or, at least, beyond what little knowledge Ari had could help. He knew a bit of the Arcane Arts, but it was nothing more than bits of information from books he had read over the years. It had never interested him beyond a simple curiosity. He felt the last of the energy he had built up while walking fade away with his next few flaps. He angled his wings to glide back down to a landing. There was a large tree ahead, where he would rest, before turning to head back home. While he wandered far and wide, he always returned to the oasis he shared with Sandsong. The building had once been part of an ancient Il’hune temple. There wasn’t much left aside from crumbling walls, but a couple of the inner chambers was entirely intact. Ari and Sandsong together had repaired it and made it home. The oasis provided plenty of food and water, and the natural energy that had likely been the reason the old temple had been built was a clear plus.

As his small, three-toed digitigrade pawlike feet delicately brushed into the grass in his soft landing, he sensed another energy that made the ruff of furlike mane down his back bristle and stand on end. His wings fluffed out as his tail went puffy like a startled cat. It was intense and dark, feeling like a pressure all around him. His tail twitched from side to side as his false ears lowered and went back. His real ears, on the side of his head, small pointed and positioned where human ears would be, moved slightly with them. While they didn’t function in hearing for a Lhuin, they did show emotion. The lowered position showed clear as day that the small Lhuin was nervous.

He was so intent on that odd energy as he slunk quietly closer to the tree that he didn’t even notice the rock in his path until he tripped over it with a squeak. His wings fluttered as he hit the ground. It didn’t hurt. It just startled him a bit. He was just about to straighten up when he heard a voice.

“Excuse me… A-are you alright?” The sudden voice made Ari let out the most startled squeal he had ever uttered. It sent two rabbits bolting and a blackbird flapping into the sky with alarmed cries. The voice was the most unnatural, threatening, ghostly, no… most demonic sounding voice the small Lhuin had ever heard! It echoed strangely, as if coming from far away, but the source was quite close to him. He instinctively looked up to see a huge shadowy thing towering over him. It had to be a good fifteen feet tall, and it was generally massive with broad shoulders. While hard to tell, it seemed to be somewhat well muscled beneath its long, tattered black robes. It had armor, a chestplate shoulderplates and plates over its hips, of a dark, dull purple trimmed in bright gold. The face was a pool of utter blackness under the black hood with burning red eyes with trails of energy flowing from them almost like a glowing red mist that faded a few inches away from the thing’s face. It seemed to have a mouth, sharp and jagged as if it was full of sharp teeth. One of its hands, which was as black as its face and armed with long, curved talon like claws, lifted up to its chin in surprise. Its robes flowed around its feet, and strange shadowy smoke came from beneath the tattered fabric that covered it. 

Ari shrieked louder, his wings flapping like mad as he launched to his feet. Every hair on his body stood on end. He seemed to even have a mane under his white tunic, because even that seemed to puff out a bit around his chest. Without the energy to fly, Ari took off running as fast as he could possibly go, though he wasn’t paying attention where he was going in his panic. He skittered as he tripped over a fallen branch, tried to right himself, and crashed, facefirst, right into the next tree in the small grove with a solid thud that made a huff of breath exit his wide open mouth. His tail was straight up and out, completely fluffed out with one small foot raised up. Tiny, retractable claws were fully out on both feet and hands.

The massive shadowy thing took several steps back, with its eyes going wide with a startled yelp of its own. The sudden shriek made it trip over its own feet and land on its rear with a soft fwoompfh of billowing fabric. “I-I’m sorry!” It spoke again, its voice every bit as terrifying as the first time Ari heard it speak, even if it had rose a few octaves in its own startle. “I didn’t mean to frighten you!” Ari was so terrified of that low, rumbling voicethat he didn’t realize the halting, shy tone, or the way it backed away from him with its head down and arms tucked in close to its body. Despite its great size, it was trying to make itself appear smaller.

Ari realized what the thing was; a Dhaebru. He had read about them once or twice, but hadn’t given them much thought. This one wasn’t just just any Dhaebru. Gender was impossible to tell by looking, but the voice and energy had both sounded male. He was a Warden, and bigger than he had ever imagined one would be. The book had mentioned they were around ten to twelve feet tall, but this one had to be at least fifteen feet tall. He wasn’t just tall, He was wide and bulky. The power that came from Him felt like an intense pressure in his head, telling him that this thing had far, far more power than he could hope to defend himself from, especially since Lhuin were peaceful creatures by nature and not at all skilled in fighting. Their small claws could scratch and even make an aggressor bleed a bit, but nothing worse than a cat’s claws. He doubted his little claws would do anything to the massive monster that towered over him! He had only read about Dhaebru in books. He fiigured he’d never see one. He didn’t even have reason to encounter one, and there weren’t many Obelisks marking portals or gateways into the Shadow Realm they inhabited in the Great Desert. He hadn’t even expected to see a Dhaebru Guardian, much less a Warden! Ari shook in terror and hyperventilated for a several long moments before he slowly forced himself to stop panicking. Panicking would only make the situation worse. He took a step back from the tree and shook himself. He was unhurt, if a bit sore.

His crash did not go unnoticed by the towering wraith like creature. He thought he had hurt himself, though aside from being a little winded, Ari was fine. Even if they weren’t fighters, Lhuin were quite tough. The massive Dhaebru leaned down and carefully plucked something from the ground. An herb often used for healing and pain relief, Ari realized. He went herb gathering in these parts fairly often, after all. The Dhaebru closed his glowing red eyes and focused, until a strange red liquid pooled in the palm of his huge, shadowy hand. The fluid glowed slightly with Arcane energy. He reached out his huge hand and let the strange liquid gently drip onto Ari’s forehead. He was still all puffed up, but the energy felt soothing. Surprisingly, the slight ache he felt in his chest and stomach started to go away. He realized what it was - the healing aspect of the plant extracted into a physical form. The Aspect of Healing. The plant itself crumbled to dust after the aspect was drawn out of it. 

He finally caught his breath as she stared up at the towering figure. “Uh… th-thanks.” He stammered. His shaking voice was chiming and musical, soft and could be described as almost bell or chime like. It wavered and showed how much she was trembling despite all effort to keep it steady. “I w-was just heading back home. I was going to investigate that-” He pointed towards the mountain. The shadows all around the Dhaebru Warden suddenly shivered, and he swore she saw a look of pure fear pass over his features. The Dhaebru interrupted him before he could continue.

“No!” His ghostly voice rise into a strange, dark squeak. “Never… n-never go there! That’s… His lands!”

“Who?” Ari finally asked. He felt so tiny compared to the towering Dhaebru. He didn’t even come up to where his knee would be. The Lhuin craned his neck and stared up at him. 

“Does it really matter who he is? He’s terribly dangerous. He will kill you if he sees you!” He was still somewhat hunched. He looked tired, Ari realized. With his head low and his eyes not fully open. He then noticed black stains on his side, and on his chestplate. Was that.. Blood? Or, as close to blood as these creatures ha, at any rate.

“I wasn’t going any further, anyway.” Ari said. “I didn’t realize it was an infection of the land until I got close enough to see it. I am very sensitive to energy, and such a place would probably twist me if I got too close.” He paused. “... Are you alright?” He asked. “You look wounded.”

The huge Dhaebru sank down to sit in the tall grass. His energy grew more pressing, a few odd sparks of magic lighting up around him, only to fade moments later. Ari’s fur had finally smoothed back down, but the odd sparks of energy made his tail ruffle out again.

“Wounded… yes.” The Dhaebru said, softly. “But that isn’t the main concern. It’s healing already, and I’ve suffered far worse. I am sick. It’s… it’s something that happens to me fairly often, but after being exiled, I have no access to my Stabilization Chamber. I have to find another way to stabilize myself now, but I don’t know how.”

“I… know somewhere that might help.” Ari offered. “Though it is a decent trip back. I flew most of the way here, and I assume you can’t fly?”

“No. I can’t. Where is it that you know of?”

“An Oasis. In the Desert.” he pointed in the opposite direction to the infected lands near the mountains. “That’s where I live, in the ruins of an ancient Il’hune Temple. There is a Holy Spring there, and the energy of that spring may help you. It’s neutral in nature, not light-aligned, so I don’t think it would do anything harmful to you. The ceilings are very high, as it was built by the Il’hune in ages past. Legend says they were as tall as you are. Even though Sandsong and I made it comfortable for us, I think there are areas you could be comfortable as well. It’s also very, very far away from that twisted place, and whoever it is you said lives there.”

“Good. I could stand to get as far away from there as possible. I just… wasn’t sure where to go.”

“My name is Ari.” The small Lhuin said, extending one small hand, cautiously, to the towering Dhaebru. “If you wanted to know.” He felt it would be best to introduce himself if he was going to take the Dhaebru home with him.

The big Dhaebru Warden tenderly and carefully took Ari’s small hand in his big clawed one and shook it with such gentleness that Ari wondered how he had been afraid of him in the first place. Despite his frightening appearance and size, he had an air of kindness about him that couldn’t be missed.

“I am Zathog the… ah… Cowardly.” The Dhaebru said. He glanced to the side. “I earned my Title and Exile on the same day.”

“Cowardly? That’s a rather unfortunate title.” Ari said.

“We earn our Title once we’ve come of age.” he said. “After our Armor, of course, and not right away.” One claw lightly tapped his chestplate with a light metallic tink. “But I hadn’t gotten my title yet. He said I was not worthy of such a thing. A Dhaebru Warden gets their Title based on some aspect of themselves or something they do, and it can change throughout their lives, depending on how the Dhaebry Warden in question changes. It is the Sect that says if the Title can be changed. I don’t have a Sect, and I don’t ever want to see another Dhaebru again as long as I live… I suppose I am stuck with the title of Cowardly for the time being.”

“I could give you a new Title.” Ari said with a flick of his long rusty red tail. “Now here’s a question, are you a coward?”

“It doesn’t really work that way, as far as I know. And, I am.” Zathog said dejectedly. “I am afraid of everything that moves. Even you…”

“You don’t seem afraid of me now.” Ari tilted his head curiously. One false ear twitched slightly.

“Well I’m not afraid of you now, but I was when I first saw you. You gave me quite a fright with all that noise you made.”

“Well you did give me quite a startle as well. You’re rather… large, and your energy is very… ah, Zathog?” He paused as he saw Zathog suddenly hunch over with his hands around his midsection. He took a cautious step closer to the huge Dhaebru. “You alright there?”

As Zathog’s energy sparked oddly for a moment, the area around him grew darker. For a moment, Zathog put off an energy that felt unstable enough for the pressure to form an uncomfortable headache in the back of Ari’s head. He covered his false ears with his hands and let out a little huff. The Dhaebru suddenly made an odd coughing sound, then retched up a mix of shadowy black and slightly glowing purple fluid that felt horribly unstable. Ari jumped back a few feet with another flick of his wings and a shimmer of light dancing across his golden markings. The damp, fungal smell coming from the mess made him fluff up further.

“That’s not going to spread, is it?” The Lhuin asked uncomfortably. He tried to smooth down the fur on his tail and fight off the sudden nausea that threatened at the sight and sound of somebody else vomiting.

“N-not enough to… c-cause problems.” Zathog stammered. He looked absolutely miserable. He wiped his mouth with a sleeve, which made Ari cringe again. 

“Your sleeve? Really?” Ari asked, the disgust clear in his tone. 

“It’ll dissipate. It’s just energy, temporarily in a physical shape.” Zathog said. He shivered a bit, still hunched over. “I know all too well. This happens a lot. It always fades away, after a few minutes. When it gets this bad I go into my stabilization chamber, but I don’t…” He hunched over again, the sounds of his retching making Ari flutter up into the tree. It was both terrifying… and disgusting at the same time. He put a hand over his mouth and tried to ignore it.

“We should try to get you to my Oasis as fast as possible, but I have no idea how…” Ari murmured once the sounds stopped. “If you were smaller I could fly with you. But I wouldn’t have you riding on my back anyway, with that nasty stuff you keep puking up.”

“I’m made of energy… I weigh no more than my robes, and my armor put together. My armor can come off, but my robes can not. I’d rather not leave it behind, though, it does give me a measure of protection and aids in the stabilization effects in my robes.”

“Hmmn… If, somehow, I can carry you, perhaps I can take off some of that extra energy you are giving off to aid in my flight.” Ari said thoughtfully. “I notice that before you spilled your guts all over the grass there, your energy got far more intense. Maybe taking some of it will help. We do partially feed on energy, after all.”

“I suppose we could try.” Zathog said. He sounded unsure, but his fear of whatever lay in the Tainted Lands behind them and the prospect of something that may help him feel better far outweighed his fear of the unknown.

Ari fluttered down from the tree to land delicately on Zathog’s shoulders. He didn’t think it would work, with how big the Dhaebru was, but anything that could make the trip back faster was worth a try. If Zathog was truthful, he couldn’t be too heavy at all with the way his robes flowed and fluttered around. Ari reached under Zathog’s arms. The warmth of the companionship of another living creature, especially one so powerful, filled Ari with a burst of energy. He spread his wings and flapped heavily. He let out a startled squeak as he quite literally shot into the air, carrying the big Dhaebru who did, truly, weigh next to nothing! Zathog let out a yelp of terror and curled up in as tight of a ball as he could with his deep red eyes clenched shut tight. Ari felt him shaking in his grasp. 

“I’ll make this quick.” Ari decided. “Or, at least, as quick as I can. He focused, adding more energy to his wings, adding speed to his flight. Zathog provided plenty of energy for Ari to use, meaning he didn’t have to land and walk in the sunlight to regain his strength. He flew much like a speedy little bird. A few flaps and a period of gliding. With the huge Dhaebru dangling beneath him, it was quite a ridiculous sight. Or, at least, it would have been if anybody were around to see it.

He managed to make it back home without having to stop and rest, right as the sun was starting to set. The entire flight took roughly two hours, which was far faster than the five hour trek out to the Savannah alternating between flight and walking. It was better than having to make camp somewhere in the desert. Ari was used to it, and didn’t mind but his own bed in his own home was more promising than sand. Zathog stayed curled up as tight as he could for the entire flight with his eyes shut tight and his hands covering his face.

Ari circled once, then gently lowered himself as he came in for a landing. He set Zathog down so gently that the Dhaebru didn’t even seem to notice he was no longer in the air, before setting down gently beside him.

“Zathog. We’ve landed.” Ari said, seeing the Dhaebru still curled up in a tight ball of shaking fear. 

Zathog opened one eye, peeking between his fingers. He looked around carefully before he touched the ground with a relieved sigh. “Oh thank goodness!” He let out a gasp as he stood, wobbled, and promptly fell over.

“I’m stronger than I look, you know. You were very light, just an odd and awkward load to carry.” Ari commented. “Welcome to my home, by the way. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s comfortable. Sandsong is probably still reading, but the spring and the pond it feeds is over there. It has all the signs of possibly being a Holy Spring, so perhaps the energy might help? It is worth a try. I am going to go tell Song about you, so she doesn’t get quite as big of a startle as I did.” Ari turned to walk away, leaving Zathog to acquaint himself with his new surroundings.

Zathog looked around. The place was absolutely beautiful. The ruins of what was once a tall and stunning building, just a few crumbling walls and a room or two that was still intact. Naturall walls of vibrant red stone surrounded the oasis, clearly protecting it from the sand dunes in the distance. One of the intact rooms had an archway, clearly meant as a doorway something his size, just as Ari had said, filled in with adobe, a mix of desert grasses, soil, and clay and stones, and a small door made of palm wood. He assumed that was where Ari lived. 

Desert vegetation surrounded the area, date palms and grasses and other trees a splash of vibrant color surrounded by nothing but sand and rocky outcroppings. Frogs croaked, birds sang, crickets chirped, and a small group of camels could be seen resting by the shimmering water, which reflected the sky above as if it was a second sky set into the ground. The occasional ripple showed that there was life in the water as well. The entire place radiated peace. A breeze caused ripples and small waves to dance across the water’s surface. Zathog felt much better, as if the air of the place was helping soothe the conflicting energies within him. It left him pleasantly relaxed and feeling almost as good as he felt in his stabilization chamber. He soon closed his eyes, suddenly feeling quite tired and more calm than he had in a long time.

His reverie was interrupted by Ari’s voice. “See that other room, there? It will take some cleaning up, but I haven’t filled in the large entries. I think I can make that quite comfortable for you. It’s not much now, but it’ll shelter you and provide somewhere to sleep. I can make you a bed out of some of the reeds from the water there.” The sudden voice made Zathog squeak and jump. This earned a quick and sheepish apology from Ari, before the Lhuin pointed towards one of the other intact rooms in the ruins, with a large archway without any brickwork done. It had a lot of sand piled up in the corners and some vegetation inside. Tthe walls would need repair, but it had an intact roof that didn’t appear to be falling apart. The support beams inside were all in fair condition. He could even make out some of the etching in the fine white stone that the entire temple had once been made of before time and sand did its work in slowly erasing it from existence. It was as if the very world itself wanted to erase the Il’hune from history. Only the tales the Lhuin told, and vast ruins in the heart of the desert showed that they had ever been. Zathog was mystified by the entire place, but too tired to ask questions.

Zathog nodded. “I’m used to sleeping on the floor.” He said, softly. “You don’t have to go through all the trouble of making a bed for me.”

“It’s no trouble at all. I’m prone to wandering, and I like making things.” Ari said. He was shocked at what Zathog said, but he didn’t say anything about it. It was becoming clear that the Dhaebru had been mistreated in the past. Ari felt protective of Zathog, despite their vast difference in size. Almost maternal. “You get some rest, and I will see you in the morning.” The Lhuin spoke softly, before stretching his wings, and heading into his own room. 

The sky darkened until night fell, but the silvery light of the moon bathed everything up in a peaceful silvery light. Its reflection off the surface of the water was the most beautiful thing Zathog had ever seen. He watched it for a time, before he went into the room, curled up near the door so the light of the moon fell across him, and fell fast asleep.


End file.
